The Final Solution: Is Globalism Too Confining a Concept?

The globalism that was the big hope of the Obama years has given way to interplanetarianism. The notion that nations could all align against shared hazards like the greenhouse effect or coronavirus, for that matter, has not become a reality. In fact, the United States under Donald Trump has become the leader in a kind of isolationist America First policy that was one of Warren G. Harding’s campaign slogans in the l920 election. "Two Promising Place to Live, 1200 Light-Years From Earth," ran a Times headline a while back (NYT, 4/19/13). The piece actually anticipated a growing movement that’s seeking to escape disease, racial and economic inequality and environmental problems that are beyond the ken of Greta Thunberg. 1200 light-years exceed the life span of turtles (notorious for longevity) or even those who maintain a vegan diet, but there’s the possibility of a migrating civilization. The idea is to travel to a faraway carbon-based destination which is conducive to human life in a wagon train of biospheres that hold out the possibility of intergenerational as well as interplanetary travel. After all there is biblical precedent. Moses never made it to the promised land.You may get to Kepler 62f, but it’ll be nice to know the nth power of your great great great grandkids might. In the meanwhile, along the way, you’ll have a better time than all the people back on the divisive and plague-ridden earth.